Coven (Part One)

"Heila is my lady-in-waiting," Ashlynn said firmly, her emerald eyes flashing as she locked gazes with Jacques. "Where I go, she goes. Always, unless she's been sent somewhere else on my behalf." 

"Cher, I don't want to make no trouble," Jacques protested, holding up his hands. "But da Briar is a place for witches. Not lords or ladies, not servants nor retainers. We tend to our own selves here," he said. "You enter da Briar as a Child of de Earth, not as a lady wit her servants in tow." 

"You don't understand," Ashlynn said, refusing to back down. She was already placing tremendous trust in a powerful witch that she'd never met by staying here while Nyrielle traveled far away. She was even staying without a single member of Captain Lennart's escort force. Not even Virve would be accompanying her here. But to be completely alone among strangers… It was a step too far.